Hasbro CEO Hints First HCU Movie Could Be 2018/19 Along With New Animated Series

Hasbro's CEO Brian Goldner has been dropping some hints about the upcoming Hasbro Cinematic Universe and a new animated series. TFW 2005 covered a couple recent conferences attended by Goldner which revealed some long-awaited details on the live-action movie(s) that we've know are in the writing stage.

Over a year ago, Avika Goldsman was announced as the head of the writing room. Very few details have been released since then, but at the 32nd Annual Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, Goldner revealed during a Q/A session that Hasbro will be focusing on HCU brands of Micronauts, G. I. Joe, M.A.S.K, Visionaries, and ROM. He also said that "the brands have lots of headroom to grow." This corroborates Goldner's comments in May at the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Conference (also covered by TFW 2005) in which he stated that the first HCU movie will be released in 2018/2019 time frame.

This is on the heels of Hasbro's Transformers cinematic juggernaut which will have films in 2017 (Transformers: The Last Knight), 2018 (Bumblebee standalone) and 2019 (???). While Transformers will not be included in the HCU, Goldner plans to "get more movies than ever before out of Hasbro brands." Toys will grow along with the unprecedented entertainment growth which will refresh the brands and over time provide growth.

Goldner also specifically mentioned that "Micronauts will play a major role and lots of new brand names will enter the market in near future." G.I. Joe rumors have also been circulating for awhile with the latest being a team geared more toward millennials (which I'd liken to the new M.A.S.K. comic series.) Goldner also hinted at a new G.I. Joe animated series.

In direct reference to the HCU, Goldner also announced a new animated series for the 5 properties. Whether it will be combined series or individual shows was not revealed, however the "writers room will be the lead to take brands from Hasbro vaults into the marketplace to reignite the brands."

Hasbro's already doing on comic book shelves with IDW's Revolution in 2016 and this summer's First Strike. It sounds like the next phase will be announced soon which I believe could come at Hascon 2017this September. From a M.A.S.K. fan's perspective, I'm a little greedy wanting both a stand alone movie and animated series, but I think it's pretty safe to say M.A.S.K. and V.E.N.O.M. will make their animated return (and cinematic debut) before the end of the decade in some capacity.

As more info is released, you can expect us to report it right here. In the meantime, what are your thoughts on these recent revelations? Are you more excited to see M.A.S.K. on the big screen or as an animated show?

About Jason GrossJason Gross is an '80s kid trapped in a 40-year old body and has loved M.A.S.K. from the very beginning. He also contributes his retro pop culture knowledge to the Rediscoverthe80s.com website.

Wyatt Bloom is a lifelong M.A.S.K. fan as well as several other '80s properties including Knight Rider, Dukes of Hazzard, Airwolf, and Voltron. He also enjoys creating sound systems and the occasional deejay gig.

Besides the AOM website, Jason and Wyatt are lifelong friends who have also collaborated on a M.A.S.K. screenplay and cohost the MASKast podcast. They were also privileged to particpate in a M.A.S.K. 30th Anniversary panel with voice actor Doug Stone at Retro Con in 2015.